Australia/New Zealand 2023
- Thread starter Sbooker
- Start date
I didn’t go to the ski resorts on my short break to Victoria as conditions were worth nowhere near a $200 day ticket in my view. (No overnight freeze and extremely limited runs open).
I was travelling with my daughter. We road tripped along the Great Ocean Road and the up through country Victoria to the Grampians national park. Then back to Melbourne to check out some suburbs we’ve not been to like St Kilda and Richmond.
^^We don’t see seals in Queensland.
^^The Twelve Apostles. There are only eight now.
^^It’s mainly sheep and dairy country. With some crops of mainly canola from what I could tell.
The Grampians are lovely. Good hikes and some nice views. Lots of native fauna.
Plenty of ‘boxing’ kangaroos. Must have been breeding season I guess.
We don’t see Emus very often. Not as impressive as Tony’s close ups in WA.
^^Some nice old architecture in rural Victoria.
Luna Park is shut mid week in winter.
An iconic theatre in St Kilda.
Lots of cool craft breweries in suburban Melbourne.
The Yarra river and Melbourne skyline.
I was travelling with my daughter. We road tripped along the Great Ocean Road and the up through country Victoria to the Grampians national park. Then back to Melbourne to check out some suburbs we’ve not been to like St Kilda and Richmond.
^^We don’t see seals in Queensland.
^^The Twelve Apostles. There are only eight now.
^^It’s mainly sheep and dairy country. With some crops of mainly canola from what I could tell.
The Grampians are lovely. Good hikes and some nice views. Lots of native fauna.
Plenty of ‘boxing’ kangaroos. Must have been breeding season I guess.
We don’t see Emus very often. Not as impressive as Tony’s close ups in WA.
^^Some nice old architecture in rural Victoria.
Luna Park is shut mid week in winter.
An iconic theatre in St Kilda.
Lots of cool craft breweries in suburban Melbourne.
The Yarra river and Melbourne skyline.
You will if you chase total solar eclipses. We have had 3 trips to Oz in conjunction with them since 2012 with two more likely in 2028 and 2030. There are two more in 2037 and 2038 if we can stay healthy enough for long distance travel.
jasoncapecod
Well-known member
My daughter spent her junior year in Sydney.. She loved Australia!!!
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
Toowoomba is a city about 100 miles west of Brisbane. It sits at a lofty 2300 feet asl. The elevation and lack of coastal humidity offers a different climate to where I reside.
I took my folks (my dad is ailing with Parkinson’s and can’t drive like he used to) up for the day. I’ve been to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers a few times before and it always impresses. This show is definitely better than our national Floriade flower show in our capital city Canberra.
The Toowoomba Japanese Gardens are excellent. (Dare I say better than the Portland Japanese gardens). And they are great all year round but in my view are best on a foggy winter morning.
If anyone happens to be in south east Queensland in spring I highly recommend the trip to check out this display. There is a street parade on the Saturday and fireworks for the kids at 7pm each evening. Toowoomba has some nice historic houses, great cafes and pubs and some nice restaurants.
I’m no photographer and my pics are taken by my dirty old iPhone 10 so they don’t do it justice.
We went to Laurel Bank park first.
Then the Japanese gardens.
Then to the main park Queens Gardens that ironically has the smallest floral displays - but the most acreage that includes Moreton Bay fig trees and Bunya pines and Boab trees.
On a semi related topic I have discovered the Amsterdam Tulip Festival is held in April each year. Amsterdam is only a 2 hour train ride from the Great War western front vicinity in northern France and Brussels. It is now on my to do list. The timing being perfect for a visit following some ski time in the European Alps.
I took my folks (my dad is ailing with Parkinson’s and can’t drive like he used to) up for the day. I’ve been to the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers a few times before and it always impresses. This show is definitely better than our national Floriade flower show in our capital city Canberra.
The Toowoomba Japanese Gardens are excellent. (Dare I say better than the Portland Japanese gardens). And they are great all year round but in my view are best on a foggy winter morning.
If anyone happens to be in south east Queensland in spring I highly recommend the trip to check out this display. There is a street parade on the Saturday and fireworks for the kids at 7pm each evening. Toowoomba has some nice historic houses, great cafes and pubs and some nice restaurants.
I’m no photographer and my pics are taken by my dirty old iPhone 10 so they don’t do it justice.
We went to Laurel Bank park first.
Then the Japanese gardens.
Then to the main park Queens Gardens that ironically has the smallest floral displays - but the most acreage that includes Moreton Bay fig trees and Bunya pines and Boab trees.
On a semi related topic I have discovered the Amsterdam Tulip Festival is held in April each year. Amsterdam is only a 2 hour train ride from the Great War western front vicinity in northern France and Brussels. It is now on my to do list. The timing being perfect for a visit following some ski time in the European Alps.
Last edited by a moderator:
The picture below the Zen garden one looks like cherry blossoms. While this time of year is reasonable, I thought those trees need the much colder winters of Tokyo and Washington D.C. to thrive.
Our extended breaks from skiing in the Alps have all been in the other direction: Venice, the Cinque Terre and Monaco.
Perhaps the most impressive garden I've seen is Butchart near Victoria, B.C. Part of that is its setting in a former limestone quarry.
Some of my friends did that on a river cruise boat. Some of the daytime excursions were by bike.
Our extended breaks from skiing in the Alps have all been in the other direction: Venice, the Cinque Terre and Monaco.
Perhaps the most impressive garden I've seen is Butchart near Victoria, B.C. Part of that is its setting in a former limestone quarry.
That they are. I’ve seen them about 10 years ago in DC after a week of skiing in Mammoth. I took my mother in law with us on that trip. She had never seen snow before. It started to snow as we were getting our luggage out of the car and was dumping as we went to dinner. By morning there was three feet on the balcony. Magic memories.
Sounds really fun.
Another one for the bucket list. Thanks.
Patrick
Active member
Well, going to Australia was year turned out to be definitely the right call.
Saw that Hotham also closed today, which is 2 weeks earlier than scheduled.
Falls Creek and Perisher remain open. FC is maybe 5th in my Oz area preference. Perisher has been limited to the front side for the week(s).
Last September I actually landing in Sydney on Sept 19 and skied Hotham on Sept 20, Buller (21-22) then Thredbo (24-26) before doing a quick return trip to Sydney to catch the 3rd last Midnight Oil show of their Final tour on Sept 28 and return to Perisher (30) and Thredbo (Oct 1). NSW were closing on Oct 3, but I had tickets for the Final show of the Oils.
That is also a moot point as I still officially sidelined for my Mammoth May injury. The talk is 6 months, so late November before I consider traveling/coaching.
Butchart garden in Victoria:
I’ve been in 1988 and maybe also in 1996. Somewhat indifferent to these places.
The Spencer's Creek snow plot at 6,000 feet (between Perisher and Mt. Kosciusko) still had a 112cm base on Sept. 13. Average for that date is 170cm. Maximum this season was 131cm on July 13. Ski area base elevations in Australia are mostly around 5,000 feet.
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
Non-skiing but a fascinating story rooted in Australia:
www.theguardian.com
Methuselah arrived in the US in 1938. She’s now the oldest fish in captivity
The lungfish arrived in San Francisco on a steamship along with 230 other fish. Today, she’s the only living aquatic animal from that vessel
www.theguardian.com
Spencer's Creek snow depth Sept. 21 last year was 232cm, highest since 1996. Spencer's Creek snow depth Sept. 21 this year was 48cm, lowest since 2006 and tied for 4th lowest since 1954.
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
This just in from Canberra:
www.9news.com.au
'Bizarre': Woman arrested after running onto tarmac at Canberra Airport
A woman has been arrested after allegedly running onto the tarmac at Canberra Airport in an apparent attemp...
www.9news.com.au
The Spencer's Creek snow plot ran out of snow between Oct. 5 and Oct. 12. Overall the snow season was similar to the other recent poor seasons in 2013, 2015 and 2020. You have to go back to 2006 to find one much worse.
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
@Sbooker: Australia in the NY Times. Had no idea it was that bad.
It’s n
It’s very damaging to native fauna and has been a big issue for decades. I have no first hand knowledge if the problem has worsened in recent years though.